Why ex-army trainers won't help in anti-Naxal ops

Why ex-army trainers won't help in anti-Naxal ops

As a result of the huge losses suffered by security forces in the past four years in Naxal-infested states, retired army trainers, who were supposed to be hired on contract to give on-job training to paramilitary personnel in these states, have declined the offer.

Sources in the home ministry said none of the retired army trainers who were contacted by the paramilitary forces to provide jungle warfare training to their personnel have agreed to go and live in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh -- two affected states -- because of the troubled situation.

The fear is not without reason

In the past four years -- from 2007 till September 5 this year -- around 970 police and paramilitary personnel in the seven affected states have lost their lives, while 886 Naxals have been killed during the same period.

"We can't blame these retired army personnel who have declined the offer because these are troubled areas and not many people want to serve in these states after retiring from armed forces. All their lives, these army personnel have lived in tough terrain and now they want to spend time with their families," said a senior home ministry official.

'We were ready to match the last salaries'

The battle between security forces and Naxals in these states has also taken a toll on civilians as 1,286 people have lost their lives because of the violent attacks.

"We were ready to match the last salaries of these retired army personnel before retirement, but they asked us to bring the paramilitary personnel to Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh or places closer to Delhi for training," the official added.

Retired army personnel were offered more

The ministry official said the retired army personnel were offered a further monthly sum between Rs 14,000 and Rs 20,000 each, along with residential facilities but so far none of them have agreed to be a part of the paramilitary force.

Sources said over 55,000 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force and Indo Tibetan Border Police posted in these seven states -- Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh -- could not be pulled out because of the continuous battle with the rebels.